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Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Did the New Testament inspire Spencer Pittman to burn Mississippi's oldest synagogue?

This weekend the historic Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi was burned and destroyed.

A photo of the burned synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation

The suspect was caught on camera and soon arrested: a Catholic Christian student and athlete by the name of Spencer Pittman.

Arson suspect Spencer Pittman

Pttman confessed to his father and to authorities that he burned the synagogue "because of its Jewish ties", and called it "the synagogue of Satan", quoting Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9 from the New Testament.

Pittman's social media accounts are filled with Bible quotes and baseball photos. 


Not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to burn a synagogue.

We've seen plenty of antisemitic vitriol and violence from the progressive left, often disguised as anti-Zionism from secular progressives or their Islamic allies. But here we have a young man who, from all appearances, is a politically conservative and committed Christian. 

One must wonder, how does a person who quotes the book of Psalms, written by a Jew, or the book of II Corinthians, also written by a Jew, become a Jew hater? How can a person quote Revelation, written by a Jew, as a reason for burning a synagogue?

The answer is yet to be seen, but my suspicion lies firmly on the rising antisemitism of the conservative, right-wing in America. It's the kind of Jew-hating garbage promulgated by Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and the larger groyper movement on the right.

So did the New Testament inspire this attack? 

A misunderstanding of it did. 

Pittman is echoing a misreading of Revelation's "synagogue of Satan" to mean "all Jews are the synagogue of Satan." Revelation 2 and 3 speaks to "those who claim they are Jews but they are not; the synagogue of Satan". 

What does that phrase actually mean? Scholars have suggested some possibilities.

One possibility is, this referred to a Christian group in the 1st century who claimed to be Jews but were of gentile lineage (Rev 3:9). Rome had allowed for Jewish exemption from worship of the Roman gods, but no such exemption existed for non-Jews. Thus, some early non-Jewish Christians claimed to be Jewish but were not. 

Other Christian scholars suggest it had to do with a dispute between the local Christian and Jewish community in Smyrna. First Fruits of Zion has an in-depth explanation. 

Whatever the true meaning, it's clear the verses don't support what antisemites claim: that God is asserting all Jews belong to Satan. Such a view contradicts nearly the entire Bible.

What can be learned from this arson attack by a young devoted Christian man?

  1. Theology matters. Sometimes it's easy to think that "what you believe" is mostly theoretical, but in reality, what is in the mind and heart comes out in actions.
  2. Antisemitism is cancerous. It is destroying young minds like Pittman, making the Lion of Judah and King of the Jews to be an antisemite. It is fracturing the Republican Party in the US and the conservative movement broadly.
  3. Antisemitism is demonic. A young man who is happy and active and by all appearances succeeding in life commits a violent hate crime, burning the very Torah scrolls that are the foundation of his Bible? This is irrational and does not rationally follow. I think the best explanation for such hatred is spiritual. It is the same spirit of Ramses, Balak, Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, Antiochus Epiphanes, the Emperor Titus, Hadrian, Constantine, Muhammed, Hitler, Hamas, Hezbollah, and thousands of others throughout history who have tried and failed to wipe out the people of Israel.


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Maimonides and the Apostle Paul agree: You need a job even if you study the Bible full-time

Thousands of Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews) protest Israel's mandatory military service. Last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Haredim are no longer exempt from service.

Studying the Bible but not working is a recipe for trouble. This is affirmed in both the Jewish and Christian worlds.

In Israel (and New York City!) this week, there's been massive protests from the Haredim, the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, regarding Israel's compulsory military service and, well, working for a living.

Last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Haredim, like everyone else in Israel, must serve in the military for a mandatory period of time: 3 years for men, 2 years for women.

Prior to this, the Haredim had a sweet deal. They study Torah and other religious texts full-time, and they receive welfare checks from the state of Israel. Basically, the Haredim receive money from the state, but give no service to the state.

This was the arrangement at the rebirth of Israel in 1948, when the Haredim made up just 1% of the Israeli population. Since then, however, the Haredi population has exploded. The average size of an Israeli Haredi family is 6.1, making up 13% of Israel's total population. This number is quickly growing.

Israel has begun enforcing this new law, including arresting draft dodging Yeshiva students. And this is the cause of the recent protests.

The Haredim frame this as religious persecution:


Some even describe Israel as an enemy state:


They make rather outlandish claim that their Torah study keeps the nation safe:

Some of these protests turned ugly (just like last time), with scenes of Haredi youth throwing objects at reporters:

But many Israelis see this all as religious hypocrisy. 

How can Haredim refuse service to the nation while cashing the nation's welfare checks? How can you refuse to serve in the army of "the Israeli enemy state" while living off state benefits for your food, housing, and education?

When I visited Israel some time ago, I stayed with a secular Israeli friend who had spent nearly a decade in the military. He had anger and even disgust towards the Haredim. I asked him why. He told me that they have become leeches on Israeli society, taking but never giving. He resented the hardline religious for doing it, and I suspect it may have contributed to his own anti-religious viewpoints.

As it stands today, Haredi families receive substantial child benefits from the government, funding to support thousands of Haredi yeshiva students, as well as public housing assistance and food vouchers. They also enjoy Israel's unemployment benefits, disability payments, and other social safety nets.

One can argue that Israel ought to allow for genuine religious objections to military service. But it seems to me that such exemption should come with exemption from welfare benefits. 

I'm not alone in this. Israeli rabbi Josh Yuter posts an excellent thread on religious military service. He notes that while the Haredim often cite Maimonides for support of their exemption, this is disingenuous because Maimonides asserts that the whole nation must go during commanded wars, citing Joel 2:16 and Mishna Sotah 8:7.

Additionally, R. Yuter notes Maimonides has harsh words for those who study Torah but don't work and instead rely on charity for their wellbeing:


"All Torah that is not accompanied by work will eventually be negated and lead to sin."

How prescient.

Haredi communities in Israel and the US have been plagued with abuse and scandals. While Haredim make up 13% of Israel's population, a full 63% of all Israel children who have suffered child sexual abuse has occurred within the Haredi community. And this number is likely underreported, as Haredi youth often feel reaching out to external authorities is a betrayal of the Haredi community.

On a lesser scale, even the verbal abuse and bottle-throwing shown in the above video is an example of sin resulting from Torah-without-accompanied-work.

This brought to mind the words of the Apostle Paul. In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he writes a similar warning:

Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, to keep away from every brother who behaves irresponsibly and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, for we did not behave inappropriately among you. And we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but worked night and day with labor and hardship, so as not to burden any of you. It wasn’t that we had no right, but rather to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.

For even when we were with you, we would give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that some among you are behaving irresponsibly—not busy, but busybodies. Now such people we command and urge in the Lord Messiah Yeshua to work in a quiet demeanor, so they may eat their own bread. 

For both Maimonides and the Apostle Paul, if you don't work and instead rely on charity, it erases any of the good you're doing by studying the Bible.

Work was a curse by God in Genesis. But in some ways, God's curses are, in the long view, blessings. It's through work that I provide for myself and my family. It's through work I can flourish and prosper. It's through work I learn new skills and grow as a human being.

Work is a disguised blessing. I hope the Haredim will discover this in time.


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Why Americans Voted for President Trump in 2024

Donald Trump moments after an attempted assassination clipped his ear

Last night, the US voted President Donald Trump back into office, winning both the electoral college and the popular vote.

Many reasonable left-leaning folks are confused why Americans would vote for President Trump.

Here's my gentle, non-snarky introspective why we did so. Maybe it's useful to folks who genuinely want to understand. Here are 10 reasons why folks like me voted for President Trump:

  1. Abortion
  2. Inflation
  3. Immigration
  4. Free speech
  5. Competency
  6. Small government
  7. DEI madness
  8. Free Palestine cult
  9. Authenticity
  10. LGBT excesses

I explain each below.

1. Abortion. 

This is the greatest moral issue of our time. Our conviction is that killing unborn children is a form of murder. Trump appointed justices that overturned federal protection for abortion; he is the pro-life candidate who has, by his appointment, saved thousands of innocent lives.

For many, especially religious conservatives, abortion is the single issue that caused us to vote for him. In the 19th century, many of the slavery abolitionists were religious people who believed all humans were created in God's image and worthy of value. Many of the abortion abolitionists today are the same: religious people who see unborn children as humans created in God's image and worthy of value.

2. Inflation. 

The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics uses Consumer Price Index to measure inflation. Here is that index over the last 20 years. I created this chart based on data from usinflationcalculator.com



During the last 4 years, inflation reached record high levels. Families pay a lot more for groceries, gas, electricity, basic necessities. People are poorer because of foolish fiscal decisions from the Biden administration, particularly printing extraordinary amounts of money during the COVID pandemic. It devalued the dollar and caused inflation to skyrocket. Several polls indicated inflation and the economy to be the key issue for US voters this year.

The Biden-Harris administration demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the cause of inflation, instead blaming the problem on "price gouging", even in industries like the grocery business where margins are razor thin.

3. Immigration. 

Illegal immigration in the US. I created this chart based on unauthorized immigration data from usafacts.org


During the last 4 years, illegal immigration greatly increased and the Biden-Harris administration did little to stop it. This has negative downstream effects: a higher welfare tax burden for citizens and legal green card holders, fewer jobs for citizens, more crime, changing demographics, foreign culture. Trump is rightly seen as tough on illegal immigration, whereas Harris was appointed border czar and oversaw this immigration disaster.

4. Free speech. 

In an unprecedented assault on free speech in 2020, left wing authoritarians banned a sitting President from social media. For the first 3 years of his administration, the left tried to delegitimize his Presidency via the Russiagate witch hunt. Several blue states tried unsuccessfully to get Trump removed from the ballot prior to the election. 

This applies downstream to average citizens. Even now, sites like Reddit routinely ban conservative commenters, shut down conservative subreddits, and suppress dissent by mislabeling any opposition as sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, bigot, etc. 

The pandemic also saw a great deal of censorship. Anyone who opposed the government's emergency powers were muted, banned, shunned. It became a grave sin to question the mandatory closing of businesses, the origins of the virus, the efficacy of masks, or even the COVID vaccines pioneered by the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed. People were banned from social media accounts and labeled conspiracy theorists. One of my family members was threatened with dishonorable discharge from the military for refusing to take a vaccine. Many lost their jobs over their convictions. Hell, I'm strongly pro-vaccine and some of my posts on social media were censored and deleted for discussing -- merely discussing! -- alternative treatments for people who were already diagnosed with COVID.

Harris and Walz ticket demonstrated a lack of understanding of what free speech is or why it's important. Walz erroneously stated at the VP debate that "free speech doesn't include misinformation.", and repeatedly said in interviews free speech doesn't include hate speech or misinformation. In fact, free speech does include hate speech and misinformation: otherwise the government could e.g. deem any critique of the President as misinformation or hate speech. I hope folks can see the issue with that.

5. Competency. 

Some past Democratic candidates like Obama have been intelligent, competent, even persuasive, but Harris was visibly not so. Often she responded to simple and direct questions with word salad non-answers, e.g. the Brett Baier interview. She refused to do longform, unscripted interviews with opposing (Rogan) or neutral (Lex Friedman) interviewers. Her voting record was ranked as farthest left of all Senators during her time in office. She was appointed as "border czar", but oversaw the worst illegal immigration in decades.  She didn't win the Democratic nomination but was shoved into the role after Biden's poor debate performance. She had never won an election outside of her blue home state of California. 

Trump, by contrast, ran a successful 4-year term with no new wars, a booming economy, international strength. Both Trump and Vance engaged in many adversarial interviews -- indeed, 95+% of newspapers and legacy media donate overwhelmingly to Democrats -- and answered convincingly. They engaged in long-form, unscripted interviews to explain of their positions.

6. Small government. 

Conservatives believe that the bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. A vote for Trump is a vote for smaller government. The US debt is at $35 trillion (!) in debt, and the interest is snowballing. The new administration promises to create a Department of Government Efficiency which will slash the size of the federal government, reduce federal spending, trim the bloated welfare state, stop injecting billions of newly printed dollars into the economy, deregulate, and reduce inflation. Harris/Walz looked more of the same: unfettered government growth, spiraling debt. The great entrepreneur of our age, Elon Musk, as part of the new Trump government vows to deregulate and cut red tape, unleashing a new era of innovation and business growth.

7. DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) madness. 

Biden administration appointees include US Health secretary Rachel Levine, a man identifying as a woman, and US Secretary of Nuclear Energy Sam Brinton, an LGBTQ activist who is currently in custody for charges of grand larceny.

Most Americans are merit-focused: the best person for the job, regardless of skin color, race, gender, religion. But the Biden administration's appointees were often not based on merit, but on skin color or minority status: Sam Brinton, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Rachel Levine, and perhaps even Harris herself are examples of people who likely would not have reached their current levels but for their minority status.

The Harris/Walz ticket asked we "vote for people who look like America" -- but this appeals to outward, immutable characteristics like race, gender, or skin color. 

During the last 4 years, the Democratic party had cozied up to race rioters (e.g. George Floyd protests) who destroyed businesses and shut down cities because the protestors were diverse. The legacy media excused this, with a CNN reporter famously claiming they were "fiery but mostly peaceful riots" while a city burned behind them.


Harris famously spoke out during that time in favor of defunding the police, at a time when law and order were badly needed. (She later recanted that belief when it became politically expedient.)

The hypocrisy inherent within DEI initiatives were also seen during the COVID pandemic, when experts urged everyone to quarantine at home...except the race rioters, who were told to keep gathering in large groups and keep protesting because they were protesting against the disease called racism.

DEI excesses also include silly and hypocritical land acknowledgements, pronouns in bio, and other performative gestures that normal Americans roll their eyes at.

By contrast, the Trump-Vance ticket proposed rolling back the DEI madness, removing political indoctrination from the education system, and returning higher education to a place with free and open exchange of ideas:

8. Free Palestine cult. 

Pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University

The Democratic Party embraced flag-burning, terrorist-supporting pro-Hamas groups who celebrated the rapes, tortures, kidnappings and execution of October 7th. 

Leftist contributor to NBC and Teen Vogue praised the October 7th slaughter of Jews.

It welcomed the far-left terrorist sympathizing students and the months long sit-ins at university campuses that threatened Jewish minorities and made campuses a place an unsafe place for the free exchange of ideas. Jewish students and faculty were harassed. 

Some 30 Harvard groups, including student and faculty groups, signed the above letter in solidarity with Hamas in the week following the October 7th massacres.

One Stanford professor told Jewish students in his class to stand in a corner, told them this is what Israel does to Palestinians, and chided them, "Colonizers killed more than 6 million. Israel is a colonizer." 

This pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party includes powerful members of Congress including Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, AOC, and several other members of the squad. Many of their values go beyond support for civilian Palestinians and creep into antisemitism or full-blown support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. 

The free Palestine cult impacted Harris' own campaign: one of the early favorites for VP was Pennsylvania governor Joshua Shapiro. The antisemitic wing of the Democratic party pressured Harris to not pick Shapiro because he is Jewish. One wonders if Harris could have won Pennsylvania if Shapiro was her running mate.

9. Authenticity. 

Harris would change her accent depending on who she was speaking to. Her own positions changed whenever politically expedient (e.g. defund the police). Walz claimed to be a football coach, but tweeted about a political ally "running a mean pick 6". He claimed to be an avid hunter but during a hunting photo op, had trouble loading and arming his weapon. 

The Harris and Walz campaign claimed Trump was Hitler. It compared his rally at Madison Square Garden to the early Nazi rallies. But Trump had 4 years in office and decidedly wasn't Hitler. On the contrary, President Trump became a great friend of Jews and the people of Israel, even moving the US embassy to Israel's capital, Jerusalem. 

To this day, there is even a town in northern Israel named after President Trump.

The northern Israeli town of Ramat Trump רמת טראמף, Trump Heights, named for the friendship between President Trump and the Jewish people.

And in this election, more Jews voted for Trump than any other Republican candidate in history.

Trump's daughter Ivanka married a Jewish man, Jared Kushner, and they are raising their children as Jews. Here's their family celebrating Hanukkah:

If Trump is Hitler, Hitler must be spinning in his grave knowing he's become one of the greatest friends of the people he tried to exterminate.

The Harris-Walz ticket also critiqued vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance as "weird".

But in the VP debate, Vance showed himself to be one of the most genuine, down-to-earth people to run for office in recent memory. 

10. LGBT excesses. 

The Democratic Party and the left advocated for excesses in the LGBT movement, including the chopping off of healthy sexual organs in prepubescent children. It waged lawfare against parents who opposed it, and in some cases, separate confused children from their parents in the name of trans rights.

The Biden-Harris administration appointed men-cosplaying-as-women to significant roles in the government and military and demanded we call them women when any ordinary person can see they're men. It supported biological men competing in women's sports and access to private female spaces like locker rooms and restrooms.

Biden administration appointee Sam Brinton

Harris supported taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for illegal immigrants and prison inmates. Many public schools now fly flags advocating for sexual deviancy when most American parents just want their kids to have a decent education without sexual indoctrination. 

Leftist public school teachers advocated for pornographic books in schools provided they are LGBT-focused. The Biden Administration issued statements in support of this, demonizing opposition to this as book burning. 

The Biden Administration's statement regarding pornographic books in schools, framing it as about book burnings.

The LGBT excesses also include attempted expansions of LGBT to so-called "two spirit" individuals, people with a pseudo-spiritual belief they were born in the wrong body, "minor attracted persons", people who claim to be animals, and other gender or sexual deviancies that normal Americans recognize as harmful to a healthy society. 

While I don't speak for all conservatives or all Americans, I'm a lifelong conservative and have an ear to the ground in that space. I believe these are some of the significant reasons that most Americans voted for Donald Trump as our next President.

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Candace Owens and the Right's Growing Anti-Semitism Problem

Anti-Semitism on the left and right.

I've blogged how the left has a growing anti-Semitism problem. (Aside: this week saw more examples: 1, 2, 3.)

But I must be honest: it's also true of the right, unfortunately. The conservative and right-wing movement in the US, despite influential Jewish conservatives like Dennis Prager and Ben Shapiro, has a growing problem of anti-Semitism.

Historically, the fringe right has held the mantle of anti-Semitism: Adolf Hitler, actual neo-Nazis, white nationalists and open racists like David Duke, various alt-right figures whose open hatred for Jews has been condemned and pushed out of the mainstream. 

It's one reason why Jews in the US historically tend to vote left.

Increasingly, these fringe views are seeing adoption in mainstream conservatism.

Most recently, popular right-wing commentator Candace Owens recorded an anti-Semitic conspiracy-riddled diatribe. In it, she accused Jews of controlling the media, censoring speech, threatening her personal safety, assassinating JFK, occupying US positions of power, murdering Christians for Passover rituals, and more wild-eyed conspiracy nonsense. She stated that a secret evil cabal masquerading as Jews established the state of Israel. It's terribly sad to watch:

The unique thing here is, Candace Owens is not fringe. She's mainstream. 

Between Facebook, X, and Instagram, she's got over 15 million followers. Earlier this week her live broadcast, "The Truth About Zionism", garnered 1.6 million views. She's appeared on numerous conservative and right-wing news outlets, shows, and podcasts, including Fox News, the Dennis Prager Show, Joe Rogan Experience, and was most recently employed by The Daily Wire before being fired over her increasingly anti-Jewish statements.

This past week Owens shared the following image:

From Candace Owens' social media. All are misquotes or taken out of context.

Her descent into anti-Semitic madness has other right-wing commentators asking, "What happened to her?"

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump distanced himself from anti-Semites, saying if elected he will deport jihad supporters. 

(Aside: Owens doesn't support Hamas, as far as I know, but her path is quickly taking her in that direction. Barring a major course correction, I wouldn't be surprised to see her openly praising Hamas in the 12 months.)

What conservatives should watch out for

I'm a life-long religious conservative. From my vantage point, there are four major contributing factors towards right-wing folks embracing anti-Semitism:

  • Conspiracy theories
  • Anti-wokeism
  • Persecution complex
  • Isolationism
Allow me to elaborate each of these.

1. Conspiracies. 

The right has a long history of embracing conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, many conspiracy theories end up blaming the Jews. You might be surprised how Jews get blamed in such a wide array of unrelated conspiracies: 

  • Flat earth? Kabbalist Jews are hiding the true shape of the earth.
  • 9/11? A Zionist plot to throw the US into a Middle East war against Arabs.
  • JFK assassination? The gunman was actually a Jew working for the Mossad.
  • COVID? It was created by Jews, covered up by Jews, the vaccine was created by Jews, and the lockdown a Jewish plot to harm the economy.
  • Inflation? Jewish bankers and corrupt financiers are responsible.
  • Some future societal ill that I haven't listed here? No worries, I'm sure we can find a way to blame the Jews!
For conservatives, embracing conspiracy theories can feel like truth telling. "They are lying to you, but I am going to tell the truth!" is a tempting message for people who already feel the mainstream institutions are untrustworthy.

But in reality, conspiracy theories are almost always false. Conservatives, especially disciples of Yeshua committed to truth, should generally avoid them.

2. Anti-wokeism.

The right wing has highlighted absurdities of wokeism. Outcomes of wokeism include advocating for children to have the right to cut off their healthy genitals upon experiencing dysphoria, the pseudoscientific idea that a person can change his gender at will, removing scholastic standards in the name of equity, giving prepubescent children access to pornography in the name of education, undermining merit through diversity hiring practices, the inability to define what a woman is. I could list more.

But an ugly reality is that this anti-wokeism can often devolve into anti-Semitism. 

"The mainstream media is lying to us" easily becomes "The corrupt media controlled by Jews is lying to us."

We conservatives were beratingly told to "trust the science", but many scientists are disproportionately Jewish.

We rightly reject woke identity politics, holding to color-blindness and meritocracy. But this drives some to a different kind of identity politics: nationalism. While pride in national identity is no sin, it suffers many of problems of woke identity politics, resulting in tribalist abominations like white nationalism and so-called Christian nationalism.

3. Persecution complex.

We conservatives often feel like outcasts. 

  • Do you think men who dress as women are still men? Transphobe!
  • Do you think marriage is between one man and one woman? Bigot!
  • Do you think Islamic extremism is bad? Your label is Islamophobe.
  • Do you think it's good for a country to have borders and control its immigration? Xenophobe and Racist!
  • Do you think it's good for families and society that children have both a mother and father? Homophobe!
  • Do you hold any position contrary the major institutions of the US (medical, scientific, university, government, etc.?) If so, you're cancelled. You'll be fired from your job for wrongthink.
Often, this persecution reinforces our own views. If we face resistance from an opinion, it can actually strengthen our opinion. It's a weird quirk of psychology.

I experienced this myself during the COVID pandemic. 

I had always believed that vaccines were good. Even wrote an occasional blog post about it. 

But during the pandemic, my views on vaccines got all kinds of pushback from my own corner of the world, politically and religiously. Suddenly, I was persecuted: people were telling me I was demon-possessed, that I was in a dark delusion, that I was siding with the global elites (whoever they are...maybe the Jews?) People who I had known as friends for years turned on me. More than one longtime friend claimed I had received the Mark of Beast.

What was once a small issue for me became a large, strongly-held one. I wrote dozens, perhaps hundreds, of posts on this blog and social media arguing against the anti-vaxx position.

Though I still am convinced that the anti-vaxx position is terribly wrong and putting lives in danger, I probably went too far. Whether pro- or anti-, vaccines should not be a major part of our identity as conservatives or as disciples of Yeshua.

The same psychological backfire effect is true for conservatives at large, I suspect. 

You might hold a somewhat reasonable position that the state of Israel has a bad policy on, say, religious minorities in Israel. You get pushback on that. Someone claims you're a bigot. Now your position is stronger. Now you think Israelis are persecuting Arabs; a form of racism. You get more pushback calling you an anti-Semite. Now your position is even stronger: Israel is committing genocide against non-Jews, and Jews worldwide have a deep hatred for non-Jews. 

Down the slide you go.

I suspect in Candace Owens' case, she did exactly this. 

She had some anti-Israel views in her time at the Daily Wire, putting her at odds with her bosses. When she faced pushback, she doubled-down. When her celebrity friend Kanye West started facing backlash for his praising of Hitler, she defended her friend, and this caused her to receive backlash as well. Finally, when the chasm between her views and that of her employer's became too much, she was fired from her job. This strengthened her anti-Jewish views even more, resulting in the clear anti-Semitism she's espousing today.

We conservatives must be careful not to confuse opposition for persecution. And even if we are persecuted unjustly, it doesn't mean our views are correct or just. When I hear that Candace Owens requires a security team because of death threats, I'm grieved by that, but it doesn't mean that her wild views on Jews are somehow true.

4. Isolationism.

The US has a long history of isolationism. In both World Wars, for example, powerful groups of pacifists and isolationists kept the United States out of these wars until there was no other choice. 

Among American conservatives, isolationism still rings true for many. "Why are we spending so much of our GDP on foreign wars when our vets face homelessness and mental health crises?"

Like anti-wokeism, isolationism may have merits. But on its extremes, it leads to a cold indifference that abandons allies and righteous causes. 

Staying out of foreign wars may be wise, but standing up against Nazi Germany was a righteous cause. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, and isolationism at its extremes tells the United States to do nothing.

In the case of anti-Semitism, isolationism can lure conservatives into thinking that we ought to abandon the righteous cause of Israel against Islamic terror. It has no foresight into a worse future where Islamism is allowed to reign free, a reality being experienced now in parts of Europe.

Summary

Conservatives have a growing anti-Semitism problem. The far-right and the far-left are not on opposite ends of a line. Rather, the line is a horseshoe, with anti-Semitism common to both far-left and far-right sides of the horseshoe.

Conservatives should be aware of this, root it out from our own movement. In the past we've successfully moved such views to the fringe. But now anti-Semitism threatens to creep into the mainstream through popular political influencers like Candace Owens and celebrities like Kanye West. 

Conservatives must be on guard that our political persuasions on wokeness, isolationism, conspiracies, or that our persecution from mainstream institutions, real or perceived, doesn't cause us to blame the Jews. If we fail in this regard, we become an instrument of the devil, worse off than our progressive counterparts.

Finally, a call to you, dear reader. If you're reading this, you probably are a follower of Yeshua, and you're probably conservative. Can I ask you to unfollow Candace Owens? By doing that, we can signal we cannot abide her new positions on Israel and the Jewish people.

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Spiritual Affliction: The Left's Growing Anti-Semitism Problem

When Hamas carried out the October 7th butchery, many progressives cheered. 

Progressive groups held rallies in support of Hamas:

The leftist Democratic Socialists of America praised the attacks.


You might think this is just nutpicking: looking only at extremes. 

But mainstream and prestigious left-wing institutions, leaders, politicians, university faculty have joined the rising chorus of anti-Semitism. 

The Huffington Post, for example, framed October 7th's Jewish victims as supporters of a new Holocaust, framing Palestinian murderers as escaped prisoners.

NBC and TeenVogue contributor Najma Sharif praised the bloody butchery of Jews:


This week, press secretary for US Sentator Bernie Sanders is spreading wild conspiracy theories about Jews, claiming Israel trains dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners.

While on the topic of Senator Sanders, he was booed at a leftist political rally this week for the milquetoast position that while Israel's war against Hamas is disproportionate, it still has the right to defend itself.

Last week, leftwing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC), an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians, had to distance herself from far-right Nazis who began praising her support for her anti-Jewish stances.

And, perhaps most visibly, over the last several months, leftist students and faculty encamped, rioted, and agitated for the murder of Jews at Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Albany, Brandeis, University of Washington, UCLA, Berkeley and dozens of America's most prestigious universities. Jewish students were harassed, blocked from entering school, their dorms firebombed. They were singled out in class by leftist professors, shouted at with bullhorns on campus, demonized by leftist political groups they were once part of.

Anti-semitism under the guise of anti-Zionsim

Might the issue just be Zionism, the belief that Jews should be able to return to their historic homeland? Are these leftwing folks simply misguided about Israel? Maybe they don't really hate Jews in general?

The answer is found in this week's headlines.

Leftist rioters surrounded Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles this week. Armed with bullhorns, pepper spray and bats, the rioters shouted, "Long live the intifada!" at Jewish worshipers entering and leaving the synagogue.

The mob predictably moved towards violence:

This has led some leftists to poignant introspection: "If the issue is Israel and Zionism, why are our people attacking synagogues and Holocaust museums?"

A dark future for the left

I tend to be a wild optimist. (Co-blogger Aaron Hecht will tell you this is a fault of mine.) The world is getting better in tangible ways; the future is bright. I've blogged many times over the years about reasons for this optimism.

Today, I'm concerned for the US's future because of the rising anti-Semitism of the left.

What does it say about our future if our young people, our university students, our university faculty, large segments of the press, and members of Congress are deceived into anti-Semitism? What does the western university look like in 20 years? What do western governments look like in a few decades years? What does a 2050s US look like?

Today -- today! -- there are open beatings of Jews, anti-Israel graffiti spraypainted Holocaust museums, violent riots at large synagogues. Almost all of which are carried out not by far-right Nazis, but by far-left radicals and revolutionaries. 

What does that say about the future of the left?

A great internal reformation is needed to weed out the increasingly mainstream anti-Semitism in the left. Perhaps such a reformation sparks only when the left is trounced in the elections, as is happening across Europe. 

But I suspect that isn't sufficient. The hatred of Jewish people is a spiritual affliction. It won't be solved by politics alone.

When Russian author and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was asked what caused the downfall of his nation, he answered,

“Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.”
Might the same be said of the secular left? The far left celebrates the murder of unborn children. It champions extreme sexual deviancy, not merely practicing such things but handing out awards to people who practice it most visibly. It rejoices at the murders of Jews. It opposes all things Judeo-Christian. At risk of sounding sensationalistic, has the left forgotten God?

Politically-approved anti-Semitism is a spiritual condition resulting from a culture devoid of God. If unaddressed, in the next 50 years we may join Solzhenitsyn and say, "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this calamity has happened."
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The Crisis in Israeli Democracy (and Christian Zionism)

Dear Kineti readers, 

Below you'll find a guest post from Aaron Hecht, a Messianic believer from Israel who has written extensively for Kehila News. Aaron and I developed an unlikely friendship several years ago after he and I discussed our differing views of Torah observance for Yeshua's disciples.

His post today is on the months-long judicial crisis in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms would curtail the power of Israeli judicial system while expanding the power of the Knesset legislature and the rabbinical court. For over a month, tens of thousands of Israelis have demonstrated against the reforms, labelling them a power grab and a threat to Israeli democracy.

Aaron's post also touches on Christian Zionism and Zionist groups who have injected themselves into the debate.  

Not everything Aaron says I endorse, and that's OK. It's healthy to hear voices outside one's own echo chamber. Enjoy, dear readers!

Thousands of Israelis protesting the proposed judicial reforms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel is in the midst of a serious crisis.

As I am sitting here writing this in my modest Jerusalem apartment, I can hear the sounds of angry (and frightened) people just a few blocks away, chanting slogans as they march through the streets of our capital city to make known that they do not approve of measures currently being pushed through the Knesset by the governing coalition. The protests I can hear out my window are part of a much larger protest movement, the largest by far in all of Israel's modern history, against actions being taken by the government.

You may already be fairly familiar with the issues surrounding what is being called by those within the governing coalition who support it "Judicial Reform" and by those in the opposition who oppose it "the death knell of Israeli democracy."

Both of these labels are deeply dishonest, as is most of the rhetoric being thrown around by both sides in the debate surrounding the particulars of different measures that are being proposed. This dishonesty is at the heart of the crisis, and it's what's making it so difficult to find a solution.

I offer the following thoughts as my own personal attempt at a solution to this crisis. I don't imagine it'll do much good, but here it is, for what it's worth.

Let's start with some truth because that's the only way to solve a problem caused by lies and deceit.

Truth number one is that the judiciary in Israel is long overdue for reforms. There are many serious problems with the judiciary and it is absolutely true that it has issued rulings in the past several years which overturned laws passed by the Knesset which were completely legitimate expressions of the will of the Israeli people. The Israeli Supreme Court has assumed powers that were completely outside its mandate.

Those who decry the "assault on democracy" that they say these proposed laws represent should take a moment to reflect on the damage that has already been done to democracy in recent years by the court's inappropriate behavior.

That leads us to truth number two, that some of the measures being proposed to undo the abuse of power that the courts are unquestionably guilty of are quite constructive and necessary. Others are catastrophically absurd overcorrections that will lead to a situation that is even worse than what we have now.

In particular, the "override clause" which is being so strongly insisted upon by some parties in the coalition, which will allow a ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court to be dismissed by a simple majority vote in the Knesset is a really bad joke. There might as well not be a Supreme Court if the parliament has the power to ignore it.

If you don't have a Supreme Court which has the authority to declare a law passed by the legislature to be out of line with the previously agreed upon "Basic Laws" or "Constitution" or whatever the foundational principles of that government are, then that is not a democracy. Full stop!

The leaders of the parties in the coalition who are pressing the hardest for this "override clause" are themselves attorneys who went to law school where they learned all about this stuff, so they know exactly what they're doing. But they are deceitfully pretending like there's nothing at all out of the ordinary in the changes they're trying to make and the opposition and the protesters are being hysterical drama queens and "anarchists."

These absurdly childish ad hominem attacks should cause any thinking person to question the moral integrity of the people making them.

That leads to truth number three, which is that the governing coalition does not have a mandate from the voters to make these changes to the Basic Laws of the country. They endlessly repeat the claim that "the people voted for Judicial Reform and they're going to get it" but they know that's not true. They know, as does everyone, that in order to make a change this big, a large majority is necessary. Having a coalition made up of 64 out of 120 Knesset seats is not nearly enough to make a change this consequential to the DNA of a country.

Something else everyone knows but which few are willing to say out loud is that most of the people who voted for the parties that make up the current governing coalition in the last election had no idea that anything like what's happening now would result from their vote.

It's purely anecdotal, but I have several friends who voted for right-wing parties which make up the current coalition in the recent elections because they wanted Netanyahu to return as Prime Minister. These people are now out in the streets protesting because the actions those who they voted for have taken are nothing like what they expected. Most of them say they want a new election as soon as possible so they can vote for someone else. (Keep this in mind, it's very important for what comes later in the blog.)

That leads to another truth, not really on our list, but highly relevant nonetheless, and that is that Israeli democracy has been very dysfunctional for a very long time for all kinds of reasons. One of the primary reasons is that the voting public has very little knowledge and understanding about how the government works, much less the highly complex and nuanced issues the government deals with.

The teenagers I talk to about this say they've never learned much in all their years in school about Israeli history, the economy, the Court system, the military, or any other issues that might be helpful for them to decide who to vote for when they're old enough. This tracks with what I've heard from many older people, some who vote in every election for the same party, some who vote occasionally, and some who rarely if ever vote. What they all have in common is that they have very little understanding of any of the relevant issues.

Those who vote for the same party in every election usually do so because it's the party their parents voted for, or which their rabbi told them to vote for. They rarely have more than the vaguest ideas about what the party stands for or what plans their party has for the power they're asking voters to give them. They just know that "people like me vote for this party" and that's the whole story.

Most of the major political parties like this situation just fine and don't even bother to publish a platform on their websites. Reporters who ask leaders questions about what their plans are in this or that area usually don't receive serious answers or even empty campaign promises. In fact, many Israeli politicians don't even bother to talk to the press. Netanyahu almost never gives media interviews, and when he speaks at press conferences, he ignores the questions that are asked of him and talks about the things he wants to talk about.

The major parties rarely if ever make any effort to attract voters from other parties who are not already inclined to vote for them, they just concentrate all their efforts on getting those who are usually their supporters to show up at the polls. The favorite tools for doing this are fear and loathing of the other parties.

For instance, a few years ago, the election slogan of the Likud Party was "it's either us or them."

That's it. Nothing about why anyone should want "us" rather than "them" just a reminder to everyone that it was "either us or them."

What all of this adds up to is the simple and undeniable truth that Israeli democracy has been highly dysfunctional for a long time. The five elections we've had in the past four years is both a cause and a symptom of that dysfunction. But the primary cause, as I said at the beginning, is deceit.

Everyone, on all sides, is being dishonest about their own positions, the positions of their opponents, and the situation in general. In such a dystopian "post-truth" environment, there's every reason to expect things to go from bad to worse.

Crisis in Christian Zionism

That leads me to the next point that needs to be addressed in this blog, and that is the effect, and the connection, between this terrible crisis in Israel, and the crisis it has sparked in the Christian Zionist movement.

Most Israelis who are even aware of the existence of Christian Zionists think that it's a relatively new phenomenon, but that's not true at all. Christian Zionist organizations were active in Jerusalem for over a century before the modern State of Israel came into existence. In fact, the movement which would come to be known as "Christian Zionism" has its roots in the Protestant Reformation which occurred in the late 16th century in Europe and quickly spread to North America. For many years it was called the "Restorationist Movement" because these Protestant Christians wanted to help "restore" the Jews to their ancestral homeland. This desire came from a reading of the Scriptures (remember the Protestant Reformation happened in large part because European Catholics could, for the first time in centuries, read the Bible in their own native languages) and that motivation continues to be a factor in relations between Israelis and Christians to this day.

In any case, starting all the way back in the 16th century, the Christian Zionist movement has played a major role in the development of the Jewish community in this country leading up to the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948 and afterward. The Jews of Israel do not like to acknowledge any of this history, but that's a topic for another blog.

What needs to be said here in this blog is that the current crisis in Israel, which even President Isaac Herzog said has the potential to lead to a civil war, has led to what must be the deepest crisis in Christian Zionist history as well.

The obvious question everyone has is, what should Christian Zionists do in this situation? What can they do? They obviously want to support Israel, but the question is which Israelis can they support since Israelis are so bitterly divided on these issues.

Several years ago, I wrote a blog in which I tracked some of the internal Jewish/Israeli schisms we're seeing explode today and I advised Christian supporters of Israel not to try and get in the middle of these internal Jewish/Israeli discussions. I don't know how many people saw that blog, but the fact is, although most Christian Zionist organizations have taken a cautious and/or neutral stance, some have jumped into the current discussion with both feet.

One group in particular which is very closely allied with the National Religious/Modern Orthodox settler groups in Judea and Samaria has given a full-throated endorsement of the current governing coalition's agenda, including its scornful dismissal of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis marching in the streets to protest against that agenda. This Christian Zionist group has, sadly but not surprisingly, initiated a mindless repetition and amplification of the false narratives the coalition keeps peddling. They have even taken the step of denouncing some of the leaders of Israel's Believer community who have spoken out against the coalition's agenda.

Guys (you know who you are), I have a nickel's worth of free advice for you.

First, you are completely out of order. You are guests in this country, not citizens. You have no business shooting your mouths off about the internal political battles being fought here, much less telling your supporters to disregard the testimony of Israeli Believers who are citizens of this country and have been appointed by God to represent His Kingdom in this country.

You frame your shilling for the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) as "reporting" the real truth from your perspective "on the ground" etc. but that's less than even a half-truth and you know it.

Second, you should be aware that there will be another election in Israel sooner or later and your pals in the RZP might disappear as quickly as they rose to prominence. There have been several such "one-election wonders" over the years, and most of them had more of a natural base of voters than RZP does. The opposition parties which might very easily return to a majority in the Knesset one day (and for that matter, some of the Likud MKs who are already showing deep discomfort with their RZP allies) will surely remember who was on their side and who was against them in this current situation.

Everything you've built up over the past 15 years you've been working your tails off out there in Judea and Samaria could be taken away from you faster than you can even imagine. This too is something that has happened in the past to Christian Zionist organizations who backed the wrong horse in a political contest in this country.

There's an old saying "mess around and find out."

If you guys don't want to find out, you better stop messing around, although it's probably already too late.

In any case, I would ask anyone who is reading this blog to include urgent prayers for the Body of Messiah in Israel in your daily devotions. We're a small and in many ways very vulnerable group. That's not a request for pity, but it is a request for support, both prayer support and whatever practical support you can offer. God is on the move in Israel, and of that there can be no doubt, that the Body of Messiah here is going to be playing a pivotal role in whatever comes next, one way or another.
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"Thoughts and Prayers": On School Shootings and the Good Samaritan

Superhero Flash praying

Last week in the US, a teenager took a rifle into an elementary school and murdered 19 people, mostly children.

Senseless.

And this is just one of a long string of school shootings that have plagued this nation since the 1990s.

After the tragedy, social media was flooded with citizens and politicians offering sympathy,

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families.”

Maybe you wrote something similar on your Facebook page?

This generated a great backlash of secular cynics, many politically motivated, who responded:

"We don’t need your useless thoughts and prayers! How many kids have to die before you shut up and actually do something to prevent the next shooting?

On Reddit, one atheist wrote in a wildly upvoted post,

“Thoughts and prayers” is the equivalent of thinking you are doing something to contribute, without having to do anything at all at the same time.

There’s some truth to what they’re saying.

At shabbat dinner this week, I talked to my kids about this and asked if they had heard people mocking “thoughts and prayers”. Indeed, they had heard.

What’s our answer; are “thoughts and prayers” as useless as “sending good vibes”?

To answer, I read to my kids the parable of the Good Samaritan.

You already know the story. In the parable, a man is robbed, beaten, stripped naked, and left for dead along the road.

A kohen sees the beaten man along the road. But he doesn’t help, and instead walks to the other side of the road.

A Levite walks by. He sees the man, but likewise doesn’t help.

Finally, a Samaritan sees the man. He applies medical treatment, transports him to the nearest inn, and pays for his stay and expenses.

What does this have to do with school shootings?

This parable in its original context was to show who is our “neighbor” in the context of the Torah mitzvah, “Love your neighbor as yourself". Yeshua explains the parable: the true neighbor is the one who showed compassion.

But this parable also means that we as God’s people must be people of action. “Thoughts and prayers” are not enough. In the parable, it was the person who took action that was deemed righteous. Even more righteous than the ultra-religious, fervently praying Kohen and Levite.

Likewise, we must be people of action. If we don’t take action, we’re not really serious in our thoughts and prayers. And if our thoughts and prayers aren’t genuine or backed by action, secular cynics are right to critique it as meaningless babble.

I told my kids that God wants us to be people of action, not merely airy religious fluff sending people good vibes through social media. Prayer and action. Faith and works.

Yeshua’s half-brother Ya’akov/James says the same thing:

If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in shalom, keep warm and well fed,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is that?

It’s not enough to well-wish, even in prayer. We need action, otherwise prayer is dead.

A rational mind will ask, “If action is what matters, why pray at all?”

David Bashevkin proposes a beautiful answer in today’s Wall Street Journal:

Screenshot of David Bashevkin's article on the Wall Street Journal

He notes that when Abraham Lincoln addressed the nation during the US Civil War, he asked the nation to pray that war would cease:

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray – that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.

Lincoln prayed to end the war, and he waged war against the Confederates. He was a man of both prayer and action. But why pray at all if action is what matters? Bashevkin writes,

[Lincoln] couched the U.S. mission of victory in the language of prayer because those sorts of words transform a political cause into an existential need. Prayer is the language we use to express our most urgent and essential desires. I don’t pray for lower gas prices; I do pray for the end of school shootings.

Catch that? He is saying that earnest prayer drives a whole people, even a whole nation, to action. 

Good vibes don't do that. Prayer does. 

Prayer is fuel in the engine of action.

I’d add to Bashevkin’s statements: We sincerely believe that a people united in earnest prayer, willing and ready to act, can move the heart of God.

(And sometimes, we the faithful and prayerful are the very means of God’s intervention in the world.)

James, the same one who wrote that prayer without action is meaningless, also writes, “The effective prayer of a righteous man is powerful.”

To be effective, prayer must be earnest and fervent. To be righteous, a man must take action.

Earnest, hopeful, fervent prayer combined with ready action. In King James lingo, this availeth much.

Making it real: what can we do in tragedies like this?

If I’ve convinced you that we need to be people of action, you might ask what’s the next step. How do we help people affected in the recent school shooting?

One way is charity, which is considered a mitzvah – a commandment and good work – in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

Unlike any other time in history, it’s easy to give to charity around the world thanks to the internet.

Some other ways to help: if you run a small business, you could donate a portion of profits, or ask customers to donate on checkout. If you work for a large company, you can donate and ask your employer to match your donation.

Change can also be on the individual level. A change of mind, a change of heart. Let me ask a hard question, dear reader: is it time to reconsider your views about guns? I’m not asking you to go woke here. I’m asking you to consider Scriptural ethics above political concerns. Our allegiance is to God, not any political party.

Are your views on guns informed mainly by the ethic of Scripture, or by the talking points on political talk shows and podcasts? Given the Bible’s overarching theme of pikuach nefesh - preservation of life above almost all else - might we consider a more balanced approach to guns and gun access?

If your answer is, “Any gun reform is veiled leftism!”, you probably have a blind spot here.

Change can also be on the political level. Write to politicians to take action to prevent school shootings. Maybe you feel posting armed guards at schools would help. Maybe better security measures at schools. Maybe stricter gun access laws. Maybe better background checks. Maybe laws to restrict access to high powered guns. Maybe it’s better mental healthcare for disturbed individuals. Tell your elected leaders how you feel. Tell them what you believe must be done. Petitioning political power is also a form of action, and Biblical figures from Esther to Nehemiah to Paul used it to accomplish good.

Dear Kineti reader, can you earnestly pray and take action to end school shootings? Let’s make progress on this, little by little. I’m going to agree with Mr. Bashevkin in fervent prayer and action that this mighty scourge of violence in schools would come to an end. Will you do the same, dear reader?

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